Blinded By Fear

to me it's about making a suicidal decision due to the feeling that life is a misery. like most of their songs...the pain is nauseating. i love this band.

at the gates are not black metal

This song deals with existential issues. The title of the song alone denotes this. We all have the ability to do anything we want at any given moment but fear stifles the range of behaviors, hence the title "blinded by fear". Some of the lines in the song dealing with "casting aside chains" show that the singer wants to break free from the fear and live his life according to how he wants. Also, there is a reference made to the novel The Dice Man in the liner notes. In the Dice Man, a guy goes around using dice as a way to make decisions in his life rather than his instincts or beliefs which is contrary to how most people live and try and control their lives. I hate it when bands write songs about achieving existential freedom. I mean its easy for them to tell you to "do what you want", they are doing what they want. I think about the mother of 5 working at taco bell for minimum wage; she has mouths to feed and cant do what she wants. So fuck off with your beliefs about fear and responsibility, the system is stronger than us all. Cool song though.

Well, Ive been a big fan of this band for far too long, decided to join this forum just to add my interpretation of this paticular song.

"We are blind to the worlds within us, waiting to be born" To me suggests "We are unaware of our own human potential"

"I Cast aside my chains" This in my opinion is what the entire song is about. Casting aside the mental barriers that have been placed on us throughout our lives by various things (religion, education, government, reality, society etc. etc. etc.) and getting down to realising our pure unadulterated and unique selves, if that is at all possible anymore.

"Fall from reality" Falling from the imposed reality of ourselves we have been conditioned to believe?

"Born of the demon sky Twisting reality Sweet nauseating pain Is death the only release?" Death the only relief from the twisted dreamworld we've been led to view as reality?

"Now covered with scars Humanity exiled" Humanity exiled from knowing itself and its true nature, through a lifetime of conditioning and control?

I see this song as a celebration of liberation from the imposed reality we have been manipulated into since the beginning of time. Just my interpretation. =)

On chorus its "all you fears unleashed" not "all of your dreams unleashed".

At the Gates kicks ass.

This song, being the first on the album 'Slaughter Of The Soul' was really a "Welcome to the Trash-Fest" song.

^^^ to quote the guy out of the band [ I can't remember which one of them said that]. this is a really cool song, its just really heavy, pounding thrash/death and black metal. Great solo too,those hammer on's kick ass. I wouldn't have minded a bass solo though.

great song but SOTS cant compare to "The Red In The Sky Is Ours" or "With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness"

For me this song seems to be talking about a bad trip or a first trip on a psychedelic plant or substance. Especially talking about falling from reality, being blind to the world within us, burning the face of the earth (ie destroying preconceptions). Also the mention of facing fears and purgatory (where a person atones for sins) are mentioned, which is often a scenario played out during particularly an acid trip. I was interested by what weaselfierce had to say about the death and rebirth themes being prevailant in the song. In places in the amazon shamanic experiences are known as "little deaths", a crossing over to the underworld and returning having been reborn.